Blue Jays vs Mariners (ALCS Game 5) – Just Why?

Why? Just why? That’s the question every Toronto Blue Jays fan is asking this morning after watching Game 5 of the ALCS slip away. Up 2–1 in the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners’ top of the order, John Schneider turned to Brandon Little — a struggling left-hander — in the biggest moment of the season.

Moments later, the decision backfired spectacularly. The Mariners erupted for five runs, capped off by Eugenio Suárez’s grand slam off Seranthony Domínguez, handing the Jays a crushing 6–2 loss. Now, Toronto returns home with their season hanging by a thread, trailing 3–2 in the series.

When asked postgame about the decision, Schneider said, “We wanted to keep giving their top guys different looks.” But what does that even mean? In the most important inning of the season, with your closer ready, you go with a pitcher who hasn’t been consistent — just to “mix it up”? That’s not strategy. That’s overthinking.

How the Blue Jays respond now will define everything. This can’t be the turning point that ends what’s been such a special run. It can’t be the moment remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Trey Yesavage gets the start in Game 6, looking to rebound from his earlier rough outing. It’s all hands on deck now. This team has shown resilience time and again — and now, more than ever, they’ll need every ounce of it to keep their World Series dream alive.